Statoil to seal Barents Sea well

OSLO, Norway – Statoil (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) has approval from Petroleum Safety Authority Norway to permanently plug an exploration well in the Barents Sea.

The semisub Aker Barents will perform the operation on the well, which was temporarily plugged in 2008.

Planned activity involves removing the trawler protection from the wellhead, confirming the cement height in the well, and cutting away the wellhead.

Work should start in the first half of March and take four days to complete. Water depth at the site is 357 m (1,171 ft), and the location is 120 km (74 mi) from Ingøy Island in Finnmark County, northern Norway.